


Look at the Roses in Your Garden

by reclaiming_erebor



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26952820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reclaiming_erebor/pseuds/reclaiming_erebor
Summary: Bilbo is nervous about meeting his new neighbor upon realizing he's a rather attractive man.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70





	Look at the Roses in Your Garden

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from the song "Cinderblock Garden" by All Time Low

Bilbo felt surprised when he first saw the moving van parked in front of the house next to his. It was rather uncommon for new people to move onto Bagshot Row. Bilbo knew all of his neighbors well since they all lived on this street for years. All save one now, it seemed. Bilbo didn’t go over to introduce himself to his new neighbor right away. let his new neighbor get settled in first. Moving was already stressful enough without having to add meeting new strangers into the mix. But Bilbo found it curious that he had not yet seen this new neighbor out and about, but he figured that would change soon enough.

A few days after Bilbo saw the moving van parked on his street, Bilbo was sitting out in his backyard, enjoying some of the early afternoon sun on his face before attending to all his plants. He had spent the last few days holed up in the house more than he would have liked, poring over a couple books in his study. It wasn’t that he disliked spending time in his study—it was quite the opposite, actually—but he didn’t like that this demand for his attention meant that he wasn’t able to set aside some time to sit outside during the day.

A stirring from the other side of the fence pulled him out of this serene focus. He stood on his toes to get a view over the top of the fence. It seemed rude to spy on his new neighbor over the fence, but he couldn’t resist his insatiable Tookish curiosity that wondered what his new neighbor looked like. They still hadn’t met yet, after all.

The new neighbor was a tall man with long dark hair. Bilbo couldn’t get a good look of his face, but from what Bilbo could see, he had a well-kept beard and was rather handsome. The same couldn’t be said for his backyard, though, but Bilbo couldn’t scrutinize the barren garden since this man had just moved in. Surely he had plenty of other things on his mind beyond the less-than-lively state of his new garden. Bilbo hoped that would change with time, though.

Bilbo ducked back down before his new neighbor noticed him spying over the fence. He knew he should focus on watering his plants while he was still outside instead of continuing to think too hard about his new neighbor. Watering the plants was a sufficient distraction, but it didn’t demand his full concentration. His mind wandered, but he did not think about how his toes started to ache from bearing his weight while he was looking over the fence.

After he finished watering the plants, there was still more to do: there were weeds all over the garden that demanded his attention. He dedicated time regularly to pull the weeds as they sprouted, but that wasn’t enough to keep them away for too long. Today looked like one of the days where he would have to deal with it. He took his time pulling them all out one by one, taking care to make sure he didn’t unintentionally damage any plants in the crossfire.

Once he was satisfied with his work, he smoked from his pipe for a while as he sat on a bench in the garden and admired it all. This was his favorite part of the house, for he loved all things that grew.

***

Bilbo had more to do the next day. He spent the morning running around and preparing the house for the afternoon, when his old friend Gandalf was coming around to have tea. It about time for for Gandalf to visit. Bilbo hadn’t seen him in months. He had been away for work, and he had only returned just recently, so they had a lot of catching up to do.

Bilbo allocated the whole morning to make sure the house was clean ahead of Gandalf’s arrival. He was not a sloppy person—in fact, he considered himself quite the opposite—so the house was not particularly messy, but he wanted to make sure the house was as clean as he could make it so it would be presentable. Bilbo detested the idea of having a messy house in front of company.

There was a knock at the door come early afternoon.

“Gandalf, it’s great to see you!” Bilbo exclaimed when he opened the door. “Come in, come in.”

“It’s good to see you, too, Bilbo,” Gandalf said as he entered the house.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Bilbo asked.

“Just tea, thank you.”

Bilbo had already heated up a kettle before Gandalf came, so the tea was ready to serve. He brought the kettle and two cups into the dining room and set them on the table.

Bilbo sat down and waited for Gandalf to finish pouring himself tea. When he was done, Bilbo poured his own. He remained quiet while Gandalf stared at him. He started sipping at his tea, even though it was too hot. He had a lot to ask Gandalf about his time away, but none of it was at the front of his mind…

“You look rather pensive, Bilbo.”

Bilbo paused, trying to gather the right words to say. “I’ve just, um, been thinking about that new neighbor who moved in next door this week recently, that’s all. I still haven’t met the fellow.” Then he took another sip of the tea. It was still very hot. He was going to burn his tongue if he didn’t give it a chance to cool.

“You mean Thorin?”

Bilbo sat up straighter. _Thorin._ From his initial impression, he felt that the name fit the man. A handsome name for a handsome man.

“Er, yes. Him.” This time Bilbo stopped himself from reaching for his tea again. Why was he so antsy to talk to Gandalf about this? It wasn’t like he was going to tell Gandalf he fancied this man. But then he snapped himself back into reality. “Wait a second, how do you know him?”

“His father’s an old friend,” Gandalf said. “I hear things.” This answer didn’t satisfy Bilbo, but he didn’t feel like pushing for more information. If Gandalf wasn’t going to share more upfront then it was unlikely that he would say more if Bilbo asked.

“Well, why don’t you invite him around?” Gandalf made a vague gesture toward his own cup of tea, raising an eyebrow. “Perhaps for tea?” Bilbo knew deep down that he shouldn’t have expected any other response. Gandalf always pushed Bilbo to do something new because and he was adamant that Bilbo stayed too comfortable and content in his ways.

“I could, I suppose,” Bilbo spoke up once he found his voice. “But I don’t even know him. I like visitors, of course, but I like to know my visitors before they come around visiting.” He tried to tune out the butterflies filling his stomach. He would love the opportunity for quality time getting to know his new neighbor, this rather attractive new neighbor…

“Well, how are you going to know him if you never speak to him? Just think of it as an adventure.”

_An adventure._ He was a Baggins! Bagginses didn’t get wound up in adventures.

But Gandalf was right. Bilbo wanted this, so he would have to swallow his fear and do it, even in spite of the torment of the butterflies in his stomach.

Bilbo was quick to change the subject after that. All the questions he had originally wanted to ask Gandalf were now swarming in his mind as he started to recall them, and so he began asking the questions, one by one, until the men were laughing with their empty cups of tea as the sunset gleamed onto the windowsill.

***

Bilbo knew he was going to have to go talk to Thorin, for Gandalf would give him a hard time if he let his fear control him. The next morning he decided he was going to go to Thorin’s house right then and there. This was just a common courtesy after all, so it was the right thing to do. Thorin had just moved in so it would be nice to stop by and introduce himself, since they were now living next to each other. It wasn’t like Thorin moved in just yesterday. It was about time he and Bilbo properly met, now that he was likely settled in. Bilbo could bring him flowers from his own backyard as a housewarming gift. Bilbo couldn’t stand the idea of a neighbor without any sort of plants on his property. It would be a gesture of good will and that would be it.

Until he went into his backyard and realized the only full-grown flowers that would be ready to pick were all roses.

So much for a simple gesture of neighborly good will.

Bilbo cursed to himself under his breath as he picked the roses. He supposed it would have to be an overtly flirtatious gesture, then, and the best he could do was swallow his nerves and accept the situation.

_There’s no going back now,_ Bilbo thought as he cut the flowers.

Gandalf was never going to let him live this one down.

***

Though it was a short walk to Thorin’s house, Bilbo was a nervous wreck the entire time. He moved slowly, which helped mitigate the uneven beating of his heart, but did nothing for his shaky hands, which fought to maintain balance and keep his grip on the flowers steady. The last thing he needed was to drop them everywhere.

He let out a sigh of relief when he made it all the way to Thorin’s front door, thankful he made it all the way without dropping any of the flowers. He fidgeted with them until they all fit into one hand and he used his empty hand to ring the doorbell.

The doorbell stopped humming its high note only a second before the door swung open. The man Bilbo recognized as Thorin stood tall on the other side of the door. Just from looking at him over the fence, Bilbo wouldn’t have been able to tell Thorin was a head taller than him. He was much more handsome up close, too, with his whole face in view. He had rugged features and his light, icy blue eyes were stunning.

“I, um, live next door,” Bilbo said. “My name is Bilbo Baggins. I’ve seen you around a couple times since you moved in, but I thought that since I haven’t come by and formally introduced myself…it was, well, um, time that I did. I brought you these flowers in case your new house could use a little livening up.”

Thorin blushed when he looked down and realized that Bilbo was presenting him a bouquet of roses. Bilbo felt a little less nervous and a little more reassured in his own feelings. Thorin had found him attractive, too…

“I’m Thorin Oakenshield,” Thorin said. “It’s nice to meet you, Master Baggins.”

“I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming around to have tea at my house sometime. I can tell you more about the neighborhood.”

Thorin smiled. “I would like that, a lot, actually. Do you want to come inside? You can help me prepare a vase for the roses.”


End file.
